A female journalist, Danielle Young, a writer for the online site The Root, on Tuesday accused civil rights leader, Rev Jesse Jackson and movie director John Singleton of sexually harrasing her.
She wrote an article in which she accused Rev. Jackson of touching her inappropriately while also making a crude sexual remark during an encounter in Chicago three years ago.
She wrote:
‘I walked toward Jackson, smiling, and he smiled back at me. ‘His eyes scanned my entire body. All of a sudden, I felt naked in my sweater and jeans.
‘As I walked within arm’s reach of him, Jackson reached out a hand and grabbed my thigh, saying, “I like all of that right there!” and gave my thigh a tight squeeze.’
She included photos of herself and Rev. Jackson but there was no picture of Jackson touching Young’s thighs
.
Young claimed that the incident was witnessed by people who were there.
'A few of my co-workers saw Jackson’s hand grip my thigh as it was happening, and they laughed harder than I did,' she wrote.
'Their laughter didn’t feel like the same type of nervous laughter I had when my thigh was in his hand.
'Theirs was as if they had just heard the best joke ever. It was almost an encouragement of Jackson’s behavior. 'I’m not blaming them; I’m just curious as to why most of them thought what happened was more funny than alarming. That’s concerning.'
Young wrote that even though she is seen smiling and laughing in the photos, it was simply a defense mechanism.
‘I did what most women in an uncomfortable position do: I giggled,’ Young wrote. ‘And I continued to giggle as he pulled me in closer, stared down at my body, smiled and told me he was only kidding. ‘The entire time, my co-worker snapped photos.’
‘In many of the photos, you can see that I am visibly uncomfortable but attempting to laugh it all off.
‘In the last photo, I am pointing to the camera, asking him if we can just take the picture.
‘When I was finally able to pull myself away from the Rev Jackson’s grip, I was deflated,’ she wrote. ‘I admired this man who marched alongside the Rev Martin Luther King Jr, a man who represented our ability to overcome, a man who is really…just a man. Don’t let the smile fool you. I’m cringing on the inside.’
Young wrote that she approached a former co-worker who was in the conference room where the incident happened.
‘I remember him being inappropriate with all the women,’ the ex-co-worker told Young.
‘And I also remember you telling me that he did something more with you. ‘And then we brushed the s**t off and chalked it up to him just being a dirty old man.’
A spokesperson for Rev Jackson in Chicago released a statement stating:
‘Although Rev Jackson does not recall the meeting three years ago, he profoundly and sincerely regrets any pain Ms Young may have experienced.’
In 2011, a gay former employee of Rev. Jackson's organization, filed a wrongful termination complaint against Jackson alleging sexual harassment and discrimination.
Tommy Bennett alleged that he faced discrimination at the organization because of his sexual orientation.
He also claimed that Jackson forced him to clean up hotel rooms in which he stayed after he engaged in sexual trysts with women.
Jackson denied the allegations.
In the same article in The Root, Young also alleges that Singleton also made unwanted sexual advances toward her.
Young alleged that the incident took place earlier this year at the American Black Film Festival while she was interviewing the director best known for his work on the 1991 movie Boyz n the Hood.
She was at the June festival, which was held this year in Miami Beach, where Singleton was promoting his new FX series, Snowfall.
'I conducted the interview, and afterward I went over to Singleton to grab my mic and he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him, saying, “Bring that juiciness over here",' she wrote.
'He was sitting in a director’s chair, so when he pulled me, I fell forward and stopped myself by placing my hands on his legs.
'He then leaned forward and kissed me on my cheek. I said, “Oh, oh, OK,” and stood up, embarrassed because everyone was definitely still in the room. 'Mostly, no one reacted, aside from a few seconds of laughter. A few people asked Singleton for a photo, and I didn’t.
'He noticed. When he was about to leave the room, he asked if I wanted a picture. In order not to make it awkward, I said yes. 'He grabbed me around my waist and pulled me into him, saying, “Oooh, I’m gonna grab on tight to you.”
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